THE MORAL FOUNDATIONS OF POLITICS
by Ian Shapiro (Yale University)
Substance of the course: the moral foundations of politics, of political argument.
Explore some traditions: Enlightenment and Anti- Enlightenment
Enlightenment. Two ideas
1) Basing the theories of politics on SCIENCE.
2) Individual freedom is the most important political good.
Three traditions: utilitarian, Marxist andcontratualist.
Utilitarianism: maximize the greatest happiness of the greatest number.
Marxism: different theory (historical materialism) but it too was based on this idea that we can have impersonal scientific principles that give us the right answer for the organization of society. We would eventually get to a world in which politics is replaced by administration, implying that all forms ofmoral disagreement will have gone away because we will have gotten technically r
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Contratualism: What agreement would people would make if they were designing society for the first time.
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Methodological approaching:
The most important question according to Shapiro: what legitimates a government?-------------------------------------------------
Two types of analysis will be held: internal (analytical and philosophical sense) and external (influence in the world). “Why there are good arguments (internally) there are not efficacious (externally) and bad arguments there are efficacious?”
THE EICHMANN PROBLEM
Hanne Arendt’s “Eichmann in Jerusalem”
Reading questions: ->What two thingsmake you most uncomfortable about Eichmann’s actions? He should have been thinking about the consequences of his actions. Even though he didn’t hate jews, he wasn’t transporting ammo, but people. He also had too much loyalty for his superiors.
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-> What two things make you most uncomfortable about the events surrounding Eichmann’s apprehension,trial, and execution?
Five answers to the the question: What legitimates a regime?
Utilitariansim (maximize), Marxism (exploitation), Contratualism (consent), anti-Elightenment (tradition), democratic (principle of affected interest)
What is law based on? Power? Science? God?
The Early Enlightenment (17th century)
Before studying these three variants of enlightenment thinking(utilitarianism, Marxism and social contract tradition) let’s try to define what the enlightenment was. First of all, as far as politics are consider, there’s a commitment to science in despite of tradition, religion and etc. Freedom is the other basis.
Enlightenment = Science + Freedom

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Certainty and Science: Diagnostic Questions. The search forscientific certainty starts with Descartes (“I think therefore I am)
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1. The sum of the interior angles of a triangle equal 180 degrees. Yes, it can be known with certainty. Analytic proposition
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2. Earthquakes are caused by movements in subterranean tectonic plates. It is based on observation. Empiricalproposition.
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3. Consent is the basis of political legitimacy. It’s not a purely scientific preposition.

However, in the early enlightenment, they would put prepositions 1 and 3 in the same category, which is, under scientific status. ‘Cause people make it!

According to Thomas Hobbes (six lessons to the professors of mathematics),“…Geometry therefore is demonstrable, for the lines and figures from which we reason are drawn and described by ourselves; and civil philosophy is demonstrable, because we make the commonwealth ourselves.”

* John Locke

Early Enlightment idea of science -> The Workmanship Ideal.

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